Soul Chimera: Dog of The Military
by a Mysterious Illusion
Summary: Shortly after Tucker is killed, Edward goes missing. Following his disappearance, Alphonse begins to have strange dreams in his constant waking hours. Later, the military recruits a new State Alchemist and their chimera: the most successful chimera made in any documented history. Coincidence? Roy thinks not! But he can't be too careful, so he sends in Riza & her dog to investigate.
1. Chapter 1

"A chimera is a creature composed of two separate beings molded into one. First the minds are connected, then the bodies are torn and transmuted into each other. Then the alchemist involved must wait as the less willful mind breaks down and dies, leaving half of the animal dead; the living half writhing in pain because of the way the dead parts of its body cannot decay. It's even theorized that the soul simply fades away to wherever animal souls end up when they die. In human chimeras, the result would be the same, only it would always be the human that ends up dominant.

"But what if you could truly combine the creatures? Allow the remaining organism to be both at once, to feel both at once, to _understand_ that it is but one living thing with two pasts? Nothing would be dead, nothing would be tortured. A _true_ chimera. A loyal dog who can be trained as such, but with perfect human intelligence could be...useful, could it not?"

"I suppose it would...What are you getting at, Tucker?"

The man was wringing his hands nervously, knowing that he was very lucky to have gotten this private conversation with the Fuhrer for his exam; he couldn't mess it up now. "I have a theory. The process of combining the two or more creatures may be incomplete; there are actually three components that make up one living creature: Mind, Body, _and_ Soul. I've taken the liberty of testing this theory, and while it is yet to be perfected, the chimera I created has enough of herself left to speak! I even heard her muttering to herself about the life of the fox I combined her with; both memories are intact, and the pain she's in seems to be significantly less than usual."

The Fuhrer narrowed his eyes at the alchemist before him. This idea could definitely prove useful...After all, chimeras were already dangerous, and while he knew human chimeras had been perfected in secret, a soul binding sounded...fascinating. "Very well. Shou Tucker, I hereby grant you the military title of State Alchemist. Your second name will be assigned to you later." He then waved the man off, who was grinning wickedly as he left the room.

* * *

**That was sort of like a teaser. I haven't thought up quite everything yet, but I was bored, and I've already updated my to-be-updated-daily story today, and thought of this. So yeah. OH and I WON'T UPDATE THIS UNTIL I GET AT LEAST TWO REVIEWS. As SOON as I notice two reviews, I'll send in my first real chapter. (I want to be sure people will be interested...and I like reviews.:D)  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**As you can see, I changed my mind about the two reviews rule, as...well what I put was a bit boring anyway.**

**So this is one of those fics where Ed gets turned into a chimera. Yaaayyy! I read a couple older ones and I decided to dooo this.**

**Anyway, this is one of two 'side fics' that I'm doing while I'm not writing my 'main' one, Fullmetal Adventure (I'm doing Fullmetal stuff. So...yeah..) so I'm not sure how often I'll update, but...I really liked the idea.**

* * *

It was raining again.

Day two of trying to decipher Dr Marcoh's research. Nothing so far, and Edward wanted _so badly_ to keep working, but Alphonse had told him to take a walk; clear his head. And then he'd actually gotten Mustang involved, threatening to tell him that Ed was working too hard and needed a vacation if he didn't go. A _vacation_! At any other time Edward would've been thrilled with one, but in this case he just knew the Colonel would confiscate everything he was working on if Al asked him to. For some reason the bastard was more than willing to do anything Alphonse asked so long as it didn't bring Ed happiness.

And now it was _raining_.

The short teenager kicked a rock with his metal leg, sending it flying into an alley, bouncing against a wall then rolling back out. Smirking, he paused to kick it again, this time deeper into the darkness of the alley. He was about to turn and leave then, but that's when he heard the rock make contact with something.

And it yelped.

Whoever he had hit down there starting groaning loudly in a distinctly female voice. "Owww..! My eyeee!"

Edward's eyes widened in horrified shock. That pebble had been pointy; what if it had dug deep into her eye? That could be seriously damaging; in need of a hospital! Without even thinking of the fact that he was running into a deep, dark alleyway in the evening toward a voice while it was raining, which was the perfect time and place for something horrible to happen, he followed the sounds of moaning until he pinpointed its source; a shadowy figure hunched over on the ground, the bottom half of her body laying in a big cardboard box. _'Oh, crap - I've hospitalized a homeless person!'_

"Hey," he said gently at first, approaching slowly. "Hey, you."

The figure didn't look up, clutching her eye painfully and sobbing. Edward swallowed nervously and really hoped he didn't seriously injure her. "Hey, I-I'll get you to a hospital, okay? Just...let me see it." He wasn't sure what he was going to do, maybe use alchemy to get the rock out safely? He winced at the thought of what it might look like, but he knelt down next to her all the same. "Show me."

The girl - he deduced that she was maybe seventeen, eighteen years old - suddenly stopped sobbing, putting her hands on the ground as though she'd never been clutching a bleeding eye.

Wait a minute...Ed looked at the ground where blood should've been dripping if that stone had done any real damage, but the only thing wet there was water from the rain. He glanced to his left and saw the rock he'd kicked about a yard away. "What the...oh _shi_-"

Ed was cut off suddenly by the girl, who quickly reached up and grabbed his head, slamming it into the ground. Hard. It hurt. "What the hell-" he was cut off again when she did it again, not having time to defend himself with his head hurting like that.

This time, everything went black.

* * *

Two days later, Alphonse came rushing into Colonel Mustang's office.

"Alphonse," the man looked up from his paperwork in surprise. "I didn't know you were in Centra-"

"Colonel Mustang, sir," Al interrupted, clearly panicking. "brother's gone missing!"

Roy looked at the armored child with surprise; he guessed that the boy would be crying if he had any eyes to cry with. "Hold on, Alphonse, what do you mean, 'missing'? Doesn't he go out alone for long periods of time often?"

"Yes, but he always makes sure to get back to me the day after he leaves," Al explained, gesturing with his gloved hands. "after that first time when I got worried and called you for help - you know he doesn't like when you help him - he promised me that he would always, _always_ at least find a public phone and call me so I know he's okay after twenty four hours. I waited _forty _ hours, and brother-"

Roy held up a hand calmly, stopping the boy in his worried ramblings. And although he looked calm and collected on the outside, on the inside he was getting worried for Fullmetal as well. "Calm down, Alphonse. Just tell me where you think he might have gone, and I'll get a team right on it."

"Oh, _thank_ _you_, sir!"

When Alphonse had left, Roy turned to Riza, who had been watching him to make sure he did his paperwork. He grinned mischievously. "Well, Hawkeye, it looks like I've found myself a mission. Guess that paperwork will have to wait." Riza rolled her eyes, smiling at his cute, but childish antics.

Both of them were really hiding the fact that they were worried sick about the young alchemist; anything - or any_one_ - who could take him quietly without leaving a trail of destruction behind was truly something to worry about.

* * *

Ed felt light, like he was floating on a cloud that was still lifting him upwards. This would be a pleasant experience if it weren't for the headache he'd acquired...ouch. What'd happened to him again? Let's see...he had Marcoh's notes, there was Sheska, then he and Al were trying to decode them...oh yeah! Alphonse had blackmailed him into going for a walk and then...and then...there was a girl, right? In an alley? And then she... _'That bitch!' _Ed thought bitterly, groaning now that he could remember everything.

Ed felt heavy now, like some invisible force was pulling him downwards...oh yeah, gravity. He was beginning to regain some feeling in his right leg, then his neck, which ached, then his left arm, then his back, then...the rest of him. He wriggled his fingers and felt something like handcuffs rub against his wrist - and he knew what handcuffs felt like; he'd once gotten himself stuck to Havoc for days with a pair of them - then he tried his remaining foot; same result.

He tried moving his arms and legs at once, but all he got was resistance and the sounds of chains rattling. So he was chained up. He was laying on his back, arms and legs spread, eyes still closed. He squirmed a bit and realized his shirt was off - but not his pants thank goodness - and he felt some indentations in the floor. It felt suspiciously like the middle of a complex alchemic matrix...

"Ah, you're awake." a feminine voice crooned softly.

Ed snapped open his eyes, finding a tall, blonde girl kneeling over him, her hand tracing lines on his bare chest like it was really interesting. She smiled at him and stood up, her bare feet right next to his head. She turned away from him and he twisted his head to watch as she walked over to a chrome table with what might have been a really big cage on it, though it was hard to tell in the dim light. She picked something up from the table and slid it into the cage. There was a sound like an animal in pain before she came back over with a bloody knife. Gulp.

"What are you doing? Who are you?" Edward demanded from his position on the floor as she knelt down next to him again, brandishing the knife. She smiled at him and then lowered the already blood-soaked knife onto his chest, humming a strange tune as she began digging it into his chest, moving it in what...felt like a circle.

Ed bit his tongue to keep from doing more than grunting in pain as the girl carved a deep transmutation circle into his bare chest; he even thought it might have scraped a rib at some point (he gasped in pain there). When she stopped, he glared at her with the most intense look he could muster. "Who are you; what do you want with me?"

She giggled, which seriously creeped him out. "Don't you recognize me? You did kick a rock into my eye after all." she frowned as though it had actually made contact with her. "As for what I want with you..." She got up and walked over to the cage again. While she was doing this, Edward glanced around the room he was in. It actually looked like a professional alchemy lab to him, with what could've been hundreds of chemicals in bottles, transmutation arrays drawn...all over the place, and...

Oh, no.

There were cages all around the room, each with a different animal in them. The fact that they were all quiet wasn't what bothered the Fullmetal Alchemist, but what bothered him was that they were all chimeras. And the really freaky thing was that most of them looked almost beautifully created, as though the maker of each one had a plan in mind for what parts would look like each animal, so none of them looked like horribly disfigured terrors.

There was a horrible smell in the air, and Ed quickly realized it was coming from some of the cages; most of the chimeras were dead and rotting.

"...well, I guess you can see the answer to that question on your own." Ed looked up to see the girl standing above him again, this time holding a large dog with golden fur (golden retriever?) in her arms, its near-starved body making it obviously light and easy to carry. "Meet Eddy. I named him after you."

Ed blinked as a drop of blood from the dog's chest dripped onto his face. He narrowed his eyes and saw that a transmutation circle had been carved in its chest as well. "You're sick, you know that?" Ed growled, his voice shaking as he realized what was going on.

The girl stepped around him and placed the dog by his side, letting it whimper and curl up onto him in fear. "Aw, look, he likes you!" she smiled as though this was the cutest thing she'd ever seen. Sick. "Of course, I'd only use the most healthy subjects, and only combine two of the same gender - I mean, who thought of merging a girl with a male dog? Hah, I can think of someone." she shook her head in disapproval as she knelt down and dipped her finger first in Ed's blood, then on the floor where he assumed the dog's was pooling. She began crawling around them, trailing the blood around in a circle.

"You mean Tucker?" Ed grunted, his voice soaked in hatred. "Did you know him? Is that why you're doing this - because he taught you how to transmute humans-!"

"Of course not!" the girl snapped, standing up from her work. She glared at him with a ferocity he hadn't seen before. "Tucker was an unworthy worm, an ink stain on the wonderful art that is chimera alchemy. But he did have _one_ use..." she trailed off, looking into the distance blankly, then grinned almost savagely. "He gave a friend of mine a wonderful idea, which he passed on to me, not being into chimera making himself, but to each his own."

"Who was this 'friend'?" Ed demanded, his voice still shaking from fear that he didn't want to admit was filling him. There was no way out of this unless he stalled her long enough, and if anyone had noticed he'd gone missing and found him before...

"No one you should know about," the girl waved off, using the left over blood on her fingers to draw more arrays just below her hands on her own arms. Ed squinted at them and vaguely recognized them to be...similar to the blood seal he'd used to bond Al's soul to his armor. What was going on here? Obviously, this wasn't a normal chimera transmutation she was preparing.

"What was the idea?" he asked, once again questioning her, but not slowing her down as she knelt down with her palms on the edge of the deep circle.

She grinned, then paused, leaning back as though she actually wanted to tell him. Which she did, which was weird, but Edward was grateful for it. "The idea was to combine not only the mind and body to create a chimera, but the soul as well."

"What!" Ed gasped. "But that's not-"

"Possible?" she interrupted, leaning forward on the circle again. "No, it's not impossible. In fact, souls slide together quite nicely if you know how it works. All you have to do is maintain a stable base soul - usually a third party, but not always - to keep one of the souls from running off during the transmutation. It doesn't matter which soul it is though; it usually forces the other to stay within the body just by surviving. I've succeeded seven times already, so I'm sure this will end fine."

Now before Ed could say anything else, the girl closed her eyes and lowered her head in concentration, and that was all Ed saw before the blinding flash of light, and the _pain_ that came with it. He screamed as he felt every cell in his body being moved, changed, manipulated, and morphed into what someone else desired. He briefly wondered through a pained howl if this was what that creature had felt when he tried to bring his mother back...

Suddenly, the pain intensified! But it wasn't his body this time, it was his mind. He could feel strange thoughts seeping into his head, thoughts of...bacon, _pain_, getting scratched behind the ears, and...a little boy he used to jump on...

He screamed again, the pain too much. He felt like dying - he just wanted to die; get it over with already! Tears leaked down his cheeks and a sob escaped him, then suddenly he felt pain somewhere else, somewhere...unidentifiable. He knew somewhere in the back of his mind that it was his soul, remembering what the girl had said, but no part of him cared much anymore as he writhed around, looking for the source of the pain. He didn't know what changed this time, but...he had a feeling...something was different. Severely, and unnaturally different.

That's when the pain died down, as well as the light. He blinked slowly as two feet came into his line of sight, and that girl said something, but...oooh he didn't feel so good...

He doubled over as his stomach convulsed, pushing out a stream of vomit. It just kept coming, turning blood-red at come point, until there was nothing left in his stomach.

And that was when he passed out, into sweet, sweet, oblivion.

* * *

**I don't know...if this is overdone? Is it? Well, I don't care. It's fun torturing Ed. *sheepish yet evil grin***

**And sorry if I got the whole Mustang in Central thing wrong, I have a feeling he was somewhere else...just pretend he was there if I got it wrong.**

**So, um...yeah. Review. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so I guess Mustang wasn't supposed to be in Central. Well. Just...imagine an excuse in your own head for it, 'cause I got none. Oops. :)**

* * *

_"You be a good boy and find the scrat!" a muffled voice made its way into his consciousness, bringing fear and excitement into him all at once._

_He stood up and began sniffing the air, knowing that what she wanted him to find was something other than the rank stench of decaying bodies coming from the other room. He ran around for about half a minute before catching the distinct scent of a rat...no, a squirrel...both? _'So that's what she means by "scrat".'_ he thought vaguely as he barked and rushed over to a table, quickly catching the small chimera in his teeth, careful not to kill it._

_The girl held out a piece of pig-cow meat as a reward for bringing the animal to her; he took it gratefully, as he was starving, but he didn't have to like where it came from - or the bringer of the food. He resisted a growl as she pet him on the head and picked up the squirming 'scrat', then she inspected it. She grinned. "Well now, this is impressive! Not a single bite mark on her. Maybe it's time..."_

* * *

..."l...onse..._Alphonse_!"

Al looked up suddenly, accidentally banging his metal head on Jean Havoc's chin. He gasped and stood up quickly as the man backed away, grunting in pain. "Oh, I-I'm so sorry, Lieutenant Havoc - I just, um-"

"That's okay, Alphonse," Havoc grunted, rubbing his now sore chin. "but we do need this room, so if you don't mind..."

Alphonse glanced around and found that he was in Mustang's office. It seemed that the Colonel and his subordinates had come in here for a meeting only to find the boy alone on the couch, and for some reason Al couldn't remember why he was in here in the first place. "R-right," he finally replied. Turning to Mustang, he bowed slightly. "I'm sorry, Colonel, I was just, um, daydreaming. I-I'll get out of your hair now."

Roy nodded politely as the boy turned and quickly walked out of the room, closing the door gently behind him.

"That was weird," Havoc commented, still rubbing his chin. "I've never seen the kid so completely out of it."

"Well, it can only be expected," everyone turned curiously toward Riza, who was looking down in a way that could've been sad if she wasn't so professional. "It's been two weeks since he last saw his brother."

"He must be devastated," Fuery agreed solemnly.

Roy snarled. "Don't talk about Edward as though he's dead!" he practically barked at them, moving around them to stand in a position that held them all in his sights. "We're not giving up on this investigation."

"But, sir," Falman frowned. "there hasn't been anything to suggest-"

"That he's dead? You're right there hasn't!" Roy glared at the man until he was sure there would be no more opposition from him. Then he nodded and looked at everyone. "We need to keep searching. Has anyone confronted the residents of apartments and hotels around the Central Library area?"

No one spoke for a few moments, then Riza raised a hand slightly as she replied. "No, sir, it hasn't crossed our minds. Forgive us for our stupidity; I'll be sure to start next time-"

"I expect you _all_ to start right now." the Colonel growled, obviously distressed over his young subordinate's disappearance. It had become more and more obvious that he was worried about him, and everyone there could agree he hadn't been getting much sleep over it.

And so, without hesitation, they collectively saluted. "Yes, sir."

Once they'd all left, Roy made his way around his desk, sighing as he sat down and picked up a stray document. It was something about someone signing up for a State Alchemist Exam or something; there was a picture next to the document of a young blonde girl no more than - he looked at the papers - nineteen, smiling at the camera as though it wasn't for a serious job application. Standing next to her was a surprisingly somber looking - and very large - golden haired dog; it was hard to tell what breed it was. _'They let her send in a picture of her and her dog?'_ Roy thought curiously, looking over the papers a bit more. He hadn't been intending to read through it, but this was actually very interesting - especially considering her age. _'Susan Nibbler...nineteen years old...profession...'_ his eyes widened. "Chimeras?" _'But why even consider hiring another alchemist intent on creating chimeras so soon after the Tucker incident?'_

Roy took a moment to realize that he had not only picked up an actual resume, but also an acceptance letter and a copy of the girl's _State Certificate_. "What the hell?" he muttered, wondering why he'd not been informed of this earlier.

He looked at the picture again and noticed the dog, now realizing that the reason he couldn't tell what breed it was, was that the 'dog' was in fact a chimera. And it looked...fine. Roy had never seen a chimera that didn't constantly have an unnatural grimace on its face from the pain caused by...God knows what exactly - Roy had never been interested in that kind of alchemy. This animal looked perfectly calm, if...well a bit strange. Its unusually flat face (imagine a slightly en-longed cat's muzzle; plenty of fur) held a blank expression almost characterized by a human when they were secretly hiding - or upset about - something... Hmm...human...

Roy shook his head, quickly dispelling the thought. Then he sighed, deciding this case with Fullmetal was getting on his nerves. Still, there was no harm in looking into it. Maybe it had nothing to do with his young subordinate, but perhaps he could send Riza in to investigate anyway - after all, it would look suspicious, and be potentially self-endangering, if the Colonel started investigating a new recruit himself.

He smiled. _'Something to get my mind off things. And you never know, maybe this girl actually does have a clue as to where Fullmetal disappeared to.'_

* * *

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the pretty blonde girl apologized, pulling her dog away from Al - it kept barking at him. "he doesn't usually do this. He must really like you." she smiled kindly as the dog sat reluctantly next to her.

Alphonse looked on in surprise. He'd never been clobbered by a big dog before, usually just cats and...smaller dogs he guessed (small animals), but he smiled forgivingly - or tried, then he remembered that he didn't have a face. "That's okay, it doesn't bother me."

She continued to smile as she looked him over nonchalantly. "So, what's your name? I'm new here," she added as Al made a surprised sound (as had become his habit since he didn't have many ways of expressing himself). "so I don't know many people." she held out a hand. "Susan Nibbler, brand new: Soul Alchemist. Nice to meet you!"

The dog growled slightly as Al shook her hand politely. "My name's Alphonse Elric. How'd you get that title?" he asked curiously, tilting his head a bit.

She pushed her hair out of the way as she answered cheerfully. "Well, you see, I specialize in chimeras. And I know that people look down on that kind of alchemy since this 'Tucker incident' I've been hearing about," she grimaced, obviously disapproving of whatever she'd heard. "but I would _never_ attempt to create a human chimera!" (dog growls) "And I've discovered a way to eliminate the pain that a chimera goes through after their...creation."

Alphonse made a gaspy sound, watching as she pet the dog - or chimera, he guessed - on the head kindly. The creature leaned into the touch, but it didn't seem very affectionate about it. _'Huh, I guess whatever other animal she combined it with wasn't a very clingy one.'_ "So how do you do it?" he asked after a couple seconds of this.

Susan looked up from her pet with a smile. "Well it's not that hard once you know what to do. See, usually, when a chimera is made, the shape of the body isn't right for the surviving animal's soul - you do know about how only one soul survives?" Al nodded, inwardly grimacing at the thought. Susan nodded. "Right, well anyway, it might not make much sense, but it's true that the shape of the body affects the soul. All I have to do really is transmute the soul so it's the right shape and _poof_! No more pain."

Alphonse gasped. "You...you transmuted this creature's soul?" he pointed hesitantly at the chimera next to her.

"It's not as bad as it sounds," she assured, nodding. "I mean it's a very painful process, but so is combing the two bodies, so as long as the end result is no pain don't you think that makes it okay?"

"I guess..." Al looked down at the 'dog', noticing its eyes hadn't left his 'face' the whole conversation. There was something familiar about it... "But don't you think it's cruel to kill the other animal's soul?"

The girl shrugged. "I prefer to use one old animal and one young, making sure the young soul survives so only a creature who's had their time will die."

"That is a pretty humane way to do it." Al admitted.

Susan grinned. "Hey, do you wanna pet him? He does seem to like you very much."

"O-okay," Alphonse agreed, just a little nervous about this 'dog'. Something about it screamed 'DANGER SOMETHING WRONG GET OUT OF HERE', but he dismissed it as his feelings towards Tucker and Nina getting to him. He knelt down and held out one gloved hand for the dog to sniff, letting it step forward and lick him in the face. He wished he could smile right then, or feel it... "Hi there, uh..."

"Boy," Susan clarified, noticing what he was saying. "His name is Eddy."

"Eddy?" Al looked up in surprise.

"Yeah," she smiled as Alphonse stood up, gently pushing the dog-thing away. "Before I came here to become a State Alchemist, I heard about someone who got his certification at age _twelve_! I also heard that his name was Edward, or something like that, and that he had golden hair and eyes like my pooch, so I named him after him." then she frowned. "But it seems that the real Ed has gone missing. That's really too bad; I wanted to meet him."

Al noticed vaguely that the dog's fur was bristling as she spoke, but payed it no mind as he lowered his head and answered sadly. "Edward is my older brother. I've been looking for him every day, and there've been searches, b-but...we haven't found anything yet." if he had eyes, he'd be crying right now.

Susan frowned sympathetically, and the chimera growled softly as though he understood as well. "I'm really sorry to hear that. Maybe I can help on one of these searches?"

Al looked up at her gratefully. _'Wow, she's really nice!'_ "Oh, thank you! I hope we can find him soon; I-I'm so worried..." It was obvious how upset he was. So obvious in fact, that the chimera walked up to him and licked his hand. When Al tried to pet him though, he bit him and tugged on his arm, whining as though he wanted something. Al knelt down next to the 'dog' again. "What's wrong, boy?"

"_Arwwlf!_" Al thought the chimera's bark sounded very strange.

He stood up again as Susan forcibly - but not meanly - pulled Eddy back again. "Hey, what other animal did you use? Other than dog I mean."

She giggled as though the answer was funny. "Oh, just a little yellowish cat. You'd be surprised how easily the two mix."

Alphonse tilted his head. "A cat? Well, that would explain his attachment to me; I'm good with cats. But wait, how can such a small animal-" The chimera growled angrily, but Al ignored it. "-mix so easily with such a big one?"

Susan smiled, petting the creature once more. "Oh, well actually it works better than mixing two creatures of the same stature. See, 'cause then it looks more like the bigger one, and therefore isn't ugly and grotesque. Understand?"

"I think...so..."

"Alphonse."

Al turned at the unexpected voice of Colonel Mustang. The man was walking down the hall with purpose in his steps. "Hello, Colonel," Al greeted as the man stopped by him. "Did you need something?"

Mustang nodded, sending a look towards the girl and her dog - which had started whining at him for some reason (but Susan stopped him with a pat on the head). "I'd like you to accompany me. One of my subordinates has discovered something about your brother's disappearance."

"Really?" Alphonse exclaimed, his armor shifting in excitement. "What is it?"

Mustang looked pointedly toward Susan (who's 'dog' had started growling again, but she shut him up the same way as before). "I'd love to tell you, but on the way. This matter is rather confidential, especially around new recruits."

Susan nodded in understanding. "Okay, I'll be on my way now."

Al watched as she made her way down the hall to wherever she and her pet had been heading before. Then he turned to Mustang. "What is it? What did they find?"

The man looked at him gravely. "Blood."

* * *

**Yayy, I'm not reading over this! Sorry if there are typos or anything or...if I missed something.**

**So I've actually started the story! YAAYYY! But I'm still not sure how often I'll update.**

**Review please! (Fave and following isn't enough; I need to know WHAT YOU THINK. :3)**


	4. Chapter 4

Time Rewind: Two Weeks Before Chapter Three, After The Transmutation

Rover was hurting. He didn't know where he was, why he was here...or why that strange smell was so familiar yet so...terrifyingly foreign. What was happening? Why couldn't he see? Where was Master Vic(tor)? He whined, so confused and alone...Wait, no he wasn't alone. He was-

"Well now, is someone finally going to wake up for me?"

Edward was confused. He was in pain, and the voice that hadn't yet reached his consciousness sounded like it came from someone evil. He didn't like evil, it always reminded him of that white creature he saw in The Gate; how it sounded so amused even though it knew he was going to be tortured in that place. He decided that as soon as he could move his numb arms, he'd beat the crap out of whoever that voice belonged to!

No, he couldn't beat her up! That would be mean, and he'd always been taught that beating people up was wrong. He'd just growl at her until she let him go.

But she deserved to be ripped to shreds! She couldn't use humans like this! She-

Oh, shit, no. _'She didn't...'_

"Come on now, Eddy, open your eyes for me! Don't you want to see your new home?"

New home? He didn't have a home! Who was this bitch?

B-but, the last time he got a new home it was scary and noisy...

He couldn't think like this, he needed to get control of himself and see where he was, who that girl was, and escape.

That was at least one thing he could agree on.

The newly formed chimera opened his eyes hesitantly, and the first thing he saw was that girl's face. He jumped up onto all fours, falling onto his side when he tried to stand up completely. _'Stupid, I don't have two legs!'_ He growled at the girl, scared and angry. He was beginning to understand what had happened to him, and he felt...really really disoriented.

The second thing that he saw was - were the cage bars. He was in a cage. It held him fine, but he could see that if he'd been able to stand up on two legs he wouldn't fit.

"Aw, so cute!" he glared at the girl, who had her hands together at her chest like girls do when they see kittens or something else stupid and small. "My favorite part is seeing them stand up for the first time. It's like I'm a new mother every time!" she giggled excitedly and stood up, walking lightly across the room, passing over the transmutation circle that had been used without even looking. "It's especially great when the transmutation is a success! No mother likes to see her baby die when it's born." Rover had no qualms about ripping her to shreds anymore; Ed was pleased.

Okay, calling one creature by two names is confusing, so let's call him Edver. _'Better than "Eddy".'_

Edver curled up in his cage, whining from the pain that he felt racking his mind. His memories were returning after the shock of waking up, and he didn't want to look at himself right then, so he closed his eyes.

He remembered everything he did the day he was taken...

When he got up that morning, he'd immediately rushed to the library with Al...

...to wake up Master Vic for some breakfast...

...then he'd gotten right to the books...

...Victor had pancakes and bacon, and he'd been given boring kibble...

...at some point he'd thrown a book across the room in frustration...

...but Master was nice enough to slip some of the juicy meat to him when his parents weren't looking...

...Al had demanded he take a break...

...later in the day, after a long nap and watching his owner do homework, Master Vic took him for a walk...

...he'd refused! They couldn't stop now...

...they went to the park, where he played with a nice lady's beagle...

...but Al had gotten Mustang involved...

...the beagle was nice! But something was weird...

...how dare he! But then there was no choice...

...she was scared of her owner for some reason, but when he asked why, she'd ignore him...

...he decided to take a walk...

...then the nice lady turned mean...

...he'd kicked a pebble into an alley...

...she took him away from Master Vic...

...the girl turned out to be evil...

...she took him to this place...

...and then she'd cut his chest...

...and put him on the circle with a boy...

...and put a dog there next to him...

...then the transmutation happened, and he was...

Damn it, that girl's head wasn't on straight! He barked in anger and fear, making the girl turn from her spot near another one of those tables. She smiled. "Did you want to say something, Eddykins?" _'"Eddykins"?' _Edver (**Man, I find typing that 'name' so weird.**) growled at her warningly, feeling like he wanted to say something. But he wasn't sure he could with this mouth - and Rover didn't want to call her that! The girl's smile widened frighteningly. "You can speak. If you understand me, then what's stopping you?"

_'That's right! I _can_ understand her now! I hadn't thought of that since I'd been doing a lot of talking before I came here - with Al. I wish I'd been able to understand Vic.'_ Edver growled slightly, pushing himself awkwardly to his feet; he was only half used to standing on four. He closed his eyes in pain as the unnatural feel of his body hit him like a title wave. _'DAMMIT! I thought she said this wouldn't hurt?'_ Not that it mattered. He coughed slightly, then looked up at her happy face. Rover decided Ed's language was appropriate here. "Rwhat...Thza _HELL _did vryou **DO TO ME, YROU VRITTLE _BITCH_**?!" his voice slurred with the words, sounding all growly for most of it - but he didn't care. In fact, it sounded clearer than Nina had...

The girl laughed. "Oh, Eddy, you know what I did, don't you? Half of you understands at least."

Edver cocked his head slightly - causing a headache - and thought about it. He knew he'd been...turned into a chimera. _'What's a chimera?'_ He growled quietly as he thought. _'A chimera is two creatures who's bodies are merged into one, duh.'_ _'Oh yeah, how did I forget that?' '__I dunno...So I was mixed with...Ugh, do I say human or_ _retriever? This is so confusing!' 'You're telling me.'_ This took talking to yourself to a whole new level.

He decided to ask her about the pain. "W-rwhy d-do...I hrurt?"

The girl gave a sympathetic smile, but she didn't answer yet. She instead walked over to what might have been a wall, but the dim lighting made it hard to see. And as if on cue, she flipped a switch and lights came on all around the room - mostly from lamps, some from hanging light bulbs and such - revealing the horror that was her laboratory. Then she turned and started back over to the chimera boy.

Edver backed into his cage at the sight of all the dead animals in the room, whimpering slightly. Then he looked at the circle he'd been in - which was soaked in his own blood - and growled. _'This is nothing! As Edward I wouldn't have been scared, so Rover won't either and I'll just be brave!'_ Those thoughts felt almost as weird as the double memories that seemed to be seeping into his consciousness.

The girl knelt in front of his cage, giving him that pitying look that Edver felt shameful to have fallen for while he was arguing with Al. (_'Painfully weird.'_) He didn't fall for it now though; he knew he was smarter than before. The girl somehow smiled through the pity. "You poor boy, I should've warned you first! You will hurt for a while, but only until you get used to your new form. Then you'll help me get something I want." At the end she sounded like some kind of fail-seductive freak who was obviously a selfish bitch.

Meany.

* * *

Edver discovered that the girl was called 'Susan', but his human past made him suspect that was an alias. (He had to think over the word 'alias' to actually recall what it meant.) His dog past was the only thing keeping him from trying to beat her to death.

He also discovered that his automail was gone, which made both sides happy - after all, the idea of artificial limbs would be _appalling_ to a dog - and was one of the few things that didn't give him a headache to think about. Another thing that was okay to think of was his hatred of 'Susan', also that he thought Winry was cute, but he was half-reluctant to admit so.

It seemed that every time a thought entered his mind that Rover and Edward would've disagreed on, he got a headache from the indecision that followed. Once, about...two days after he got captured - but it was hard to tell in this place - he started trying to decide whether or not to drink the milk Susan had given him. The hater's argument was that it was gross, and she gave him water too so there was no need to drink this crap, while the lover's argument was that, with the modified tongue, it might taste delicious! And he used to like it anyway, even though it was gross. Wait, what? No, he hated it even though it tasted good, no...what was - ACK! IT HURT!

Anyway, that argument left him whimpering on the floor with blood pouring out of his ears and nose; Susan had to give him sedatives to put him to sleep that time. When he woke up, he promised to himself that he'd try to work out all the indecision in his mind, and maybe the pain and disorientation would stop.

He did fix that a bit, and after maybe two or three more days Susan decided to test him. She had him testing his sense of smell, guessing what something was and finding things in the stinky room, and doing complex math problems and naming chemicals and reactions they'd have together - not that it was too difficult, he was a prodigy after all... But it _did_ give him a headache - he hadn't been this smart before!

That thought gave him another headache, and he had to decide that he was moderately smart, much to half his chagrin.

After another week, Edver had pretty much completely sorted out his memories, having come to terms with the fact that he would just have to be one person (Pet's are people too!) with two pasts. Somehow, it worked out and he could think of himself as both. The pain in his body went away too, which he was happy for.

The one thing he couldn't stand was that his stupid canine instincts stopped him from escaping whenever there might've been a chance to rip the girl's throat out! Even Rover hated it now that he understood what that feeling was. _'Damn, I'm glad I was Edward too, otherwise most of my life was nothing. At least Vic was there...'_

Edver missed Master Vic. He also missed Alphonse... He wished he could see them both again; maybe have them meet! His tail waged every time he thought about it, but he knew Al would be upset about what happened to his brother - Vic wouldn't probably mind that much so long as Rover still loved him and wasn't sad.

He swore that when he got the chance; he would run for it! He couldn't make himself disobey Susan after how she'd treated him - he felt a tiny bit too scared of her for that, and even though he knew Al or Vic would give him treats if he asked, she kept giving him yummy stuff and logic couldn't make him leave her if she offered something - but as soon as he could, he'd run for it and hope she didn't call.

Edver was actually surprised at how short a time it had taken him to become accustomed to his new form. He was so used to it in fact, that he wasn't sure if he _wanted_ to be fixed. (Like as in separated! Not...the other thing.) He whined to himself about it as Susan pet him on the head and rambled on about bringing him to some place, the word "command" sprinkled in somewhere in there. Edver knew that he couldn't help Al like this, or even be a proper companion for Victor when his intelligence was higher than the eight year old, but...he couldn't imagine being two people again. Thinking about being separated again - which he was longing for at the beginning - was like thinking about losing half of yourself. He was one consciousness, so...what would that feel like? He shivered at the thought.

"...and maybe you can see your brother again!"

_'Wait what?'_ Edver looked up at Susan, finally paying attention. "Wvhat?"

The evil girl's cheerful smile turned wicked for half a millisecond, but faded so fast he wasn't sure if it was real. "Oh, silly willy, I'm taking you to Central Command!" What. "I'm going to apply to be a State Alchemist - second youngest _ever_, next to you - so that I can get more materials and make more chimera!" She squealed with excitement. "Ooh! This is going to be so much fun!"

Well, it's official; this girl was a total nutcase.

* * *

"You be a good boy and find the scrat!" a muffled voice made its way into his tired consciousness, bringing fear and excitement into him all at once.

Edver stood up from his nap and stretched, beginning to sniff the air curiously, knowing that what Susan wanted him to find was something other than the rank stench of decaying bodies coming from the other room(He'd discovered that this place, wherever it was, had three very large rooms he was allowed in; imagine them as you please.). He ran around for about half a minute before catching the distinct scent of a rat...no, a squirrel...both? _'So that's what she means by "scrat".'_ he thought vaguely as he barked and rushed over to a table, quickly catching the small chimera in his teeth, careful not to kill it.

The girl held out a piece of pig-cow meat as a reward for bringing the animal to her; he took it gratefully, as he was starving, but he didn't have to like where it came from - or the bringer of the food. He resisted a growl as she pet him on the head and picked up the squirming 'scrat', then she inspected it. She grinned. "Well now, this is impressive! Not a single bite mark on her. Maybe it's time..."

* * *

Time Skip: Present Date

**Also, just for fun I'm putting this in 1st person: "Edver"'s Point of View. I'd prefer not to have to use that name anymore...**

I couldn't believe it! Alphonse hadn't even noticed me! I thought for sure he'd get a little suspicious of a _chimera_ who looks _just like_ his brother coming in _two weeks after Edward disappears_! I couldn't believe him! But, well, I _did_ look more like Rover than Ed...Hm, maybe I'd be able to see Vic then too! He'd recognize me for sure! And he's always lived in Central, so there was definitely the possibility of meeting him.

But that didn't change how upset I was about Alphonse not knowing me, or 'Susan''s scary ability to act so innocent. That little bitch was going to get it, and bringing me here was a huge mistake...

I growled quietly to myself as 'Susan' lead me forcefully away to the dorms where technically homeless soldiers stay when they haven't yet bought a home. She locked the door to her room and, using her knowledge of _normal_ alchemy, she build me a cage from the wall. I had to sit in there the rest of the day while she went off to do who knows what.

_'I swear, Al; Vic, I'll get away from her and come back to you. I promise. As for how that'll work... I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.'_

* * *

Back With Alphonse & Back In 3rd Person

As it turns out, the 'blood evidence' wasn't anything more than a small stain on the ground in an alley. The only reason they'd suspected anything of it was because local residences had seen the Fullmetal Alchemist enter the dark place two weeks earlier and not come out. Apparently, no one had questioned it, and Alphonse's worry for his brother made him want to get mad at the people (idiots!), but he had to keep calm. He was no help to anyone if he lost it; that was always what he told himself when he got irritable, and, to be honest, that thought was the only thing that kept him more calm and mature than his brother.

When the blood had been found, it had been collected and tested; it had been verified that the blood was indeed the Fullmetal's. And that meant Edward had been there.

"The alley is a dead end," one of the soldiers that were searching the area told them, standing straight as an arrow in that...military way. "so there wasn't much ground to cover. Whoever did this wasn't very careful in hiding it; frankly, I'm surprised it took us this long to find this much."

"What did you find exactly?" Al prompted, eager to find his older brother now that there might've been a clue.

"This," The soldier led them over to the end of the alleyway. There was a simple door on the wall to their right; another soldier dude was trying to pick the lock. "There's another blood-stain right there," he pointed at the ground, and sure enough there was some blood just under the door. "That blood is also the Fullmetal's."

They stood there for a few moments, waiting for the other guy to successfully open the door without a key, but then Mustang got impatient. "Stand back." he growled, raising a gloved hand. Everyone got the message and scattered, standing well away from the doomed door. The Colonel snapped his fingers, and just like that there was a flaming hole in the wall.

Alphonse didn't even _try_ to scold the Colonel for destroying the wall like that as they started down the stairs - without any of the other soldiers - that were immediately behind it. They went down for quite a ways, the only lights being small lamps hanging from the ceiling every couple yards. Roy deduced that they were about two stories down when they finally came to another door, this one being made of some kind of heavy metal.

After a moment, Al placed his gloved hand on it. "You think Brother might be on the other side of this?"

"I don't know," Mustang replied gruffly, hoping to a God he didn't believe in that they wouldn't find Fullmetal's corpse down here. He tried lightly to turn the knob, expecting resistance like before - but he was shocked to find that it turned easily, and the door opened. "That's odd..." he murmured, stepping in before Alphonse.

Al followed the Colonel inside, stepping carefully. It was really dark, so they couldn't see anything, but, unbeknownst to the youngest Elric brother, the stench of the room was enough to make one's eyes water.

Roy knew it though; he held a gloved hand to his face, trying to block out the all-too-familiar scent of decaying bodies. He didn't want to say anything; he knew what they would find - or at least, he _thought_ he knew - and he didn't want to see it either. "Alphonse," he whispered, realizing the boy lacked a sense of smell. "I'm going to light up the room. I want you to stay very, very calm, alright?"

"O-okay..." came the tentative answer.

Roy knew that it probably wasn't smart to expose a fourteen year old boy to whatever it was they were about to see, but, in his defense, that smell could make even the most prestigious geniuses ask for toast on butter. He raised his other glove, and snapped...

Neither of them would get over what they saw for long, long time.

* * *

**Wow. I actually updated. O_O**

**Haha, don't worry guys, I totally plan on finishing this EVENTUALLY. I mean, I have _no idea_ how it's going to end yet (yup, I always wing it. Sorry) but I promise you it won't be left forever undone.**

**So, uh, yeah. Review, please. I like those. I _feeedd off thoooossssseee_. ^-^**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry about the writing at the beginning; it was...horrible. But in my defense...I was tired when I wrote it; I only hope _what's_ written is more important than _how_ it's written, eh? :P Oh, and about that censoring in the start there...there's one swear word I won't type all the way...But I wanted a strong reaction.**

**OH! And, can anyone guess how I chose the name of 'Rover''s owner? XP I couldn't really think of anything, so I chose to reference instead...**

* * *

_Roy knew that it probably wasn't smart to expose a fourteen year old boy to whatever it was they were about to see, but, in his defense, that smell could make even the most prestigious geniuses ask for toast on butter. He raised his other glove, and snapped..._

* * *

"What the _f%*#* ! hell_!" Roy gasped. He quickly winced at his own language and glanced at the boy next to him as the light from his fire dimmed. Al hadn't moved. His glowing eyes showed no emotion, and he hadn't reacted in any way. Roy guessed that he was just in shock... the poor kid shouldn't have seen what was down there...

And what was down there was truly disgusting.

There had been cages strewed everywhere; most of them appeared to have been torn open by something huge, and inside the ones that _weren't_ broken lay the decaying bodies of dead animals, already too far gone to recognize in that single flash. Around them were also over-turned tables and broken glass; Roy hadn't caught everything, but he knew it was a mess. However, those things weren't what horrified the young Colonel...

Also strewn about the room, there were unrecognizable red blobs, and shapeless, off-white chunks. The red blobs, Roy somehow knew, were bunches of torn flesh, and the white chunks... probably bone. Intestines were hanging off the edge of many broken cages, and the man had noticed the head of either a small boar or a gigantic rat laying smashed near his feet. Left inside the ripped open cages... mauled bodies. And that's a tame description. _'What the hell happened down here?'_

Roy wanted to throw up. He really did. The sight was gone, but the smell was still there and bombarding his nose with a vivid imagination that probably blew the whole thing out of proportion. It was almost worse than what happened in Ishval; at least there the bodies were recognizable as human. This was...this was grotesque; these creatures hadn't died the same species as they'd been born as. _'Chimeras, they have to be.'_

Alphonse stood silent as the sight of the room was revealed to him. If he had his body, he probably would have closed his eyes, or, on a reflex, turned away. Perhaps even fallen over or thrown up. But all he could do was stare as the dim light of the fire extinguished itself. He had definitely seen all those bodies, and all of those bones and discarded pieces of flesh, but in actuality - even as he didn't recognize the dead creatures as chimeras - what Alphonse Elric was looking at was the elaborate transmutation circle - soaked in blood - that lay, carved deeply, throughout the center of the room.

It was huge and complex; and the only thing Al could think of was what it might have been used for. _'I've never seen something like that...I need a closer look.'_

Although, judging from the sound of retching from the Colonel, Alphonse guessed the scent of the room was way too much to go any farther in. But he _had_ to see what that was, regardless of how horrifying the room was; it might have had something to do with his brother's disappearance! "Colonel?" he finally started softly, trying to ignore the horrors in the room to focus on that one part of the memory. "I think we should go back and get a lantern; I want to see that closer up."

Mustang choked. "Y-you want to go _closer_?" he sounded horrified.

"Yeah," Then Al realized he might not have noticed the circle. "There was a huge transmutation circle in the middle of the floor; didn't you see it, Colonel?"

Mustang was silent for a few moments, and Alphonse could tell he was trying to hold his breath. Then, "Yes, we should definitely get a closer look at that. But not without a better source of light and something to block this smell; we'll go back to Central Command and-"

"No," Al interrupted firmly. "I can't afford to go all the way back there for so long when we've finally found a lead on where Brother might be! What if he's down here? What if he's injured, or-..."

Silence. Roy looked up at the boy with unseen pity in his eyes - and a hidden sense of panic. What if Fullmetal _was_ down here? What if one of these rotting bodies... _'But these are obviously chimeras - or at least all animals,'_ he thought to comfort himself. That worked for a moment, but then he recalled something that had happened earlier that day, and a horrible thought came to the Colonel's mind as he thought of a certain Sewing Life Alchemist and his daughter...

"Come on, Alphonse," Roy ordered in his most commanding voice; he turned, grabbed the boy's arm, and yanked him back. Then when Al didn't follow, he turned again. "We need to go back. _Now_."

"Wha-why?" Al protested. "We need to see-"

"_I_ need to see to something _right now_, Alphonse!" Roy snapped, panic rising. _'I hope I'm wrong, I really do. If I'm not then-...'_ "Come on!" Roy whirled around and, without waiting for the boy, ran up the stairs two at a time. _'Damn it, if I'm right then I'll never forgive myself! I'll never forgive Tucker!'_

* * *

Back in Roy's Office

Riza sighed as she sorted through the papers left strewn all over Roy's desk. Once he'd gotten the news of Edward's blood - found in an alleyway of all places - the Colonel had immediately left his office to go find Alphonse. Not only that, but he'd simply thrown the documents in his hands onto the desk without rhyme or reason; it was very frustrating. _'What am I going to do with that man?'_

The Hawk's Eye had decided to clean up after her destructive boss when he left; he had to be _able_ to finish his paperwork after all - not waste his time cleaning up after himself all the time (Riza secretly did that) - but she had to admit to herself... part of why she was doing this was to get her mind off of Edward. She just couldn't stop thinking about that poor boy, and...well, if she had to voice her opinion, Riza would say he was probably dead or worse; Edward Elric was not the type to stay captive for very long - everyone in Mustang's group knew that after the time Hughes had payed a man to 'kidnap' him for an April Fools joke. (Riza did not approve of that one.) It...hadn't ended well. Fuery _still _got jumpy around screwdrivers.

After a few minutes of aimlessly stacking the papers, Riza noticed a small document that seemed to be unusually well-handled - as though Roy had actually bothered looking through it. This got her curious, since the man hardly ever looked through something thoroughly - he just scanned it to be sure it wasn't anything important, or at least what he considered important. And so, pausing to listen for anyone outside, (it was quiet) Riza sat down and started reading the papers.

It wasn't really something of much interest, just a resume for a State Certification, but there _had_ to be something of importance if the Colonel was interested in it. Riza turned to the desk once again, searching for any other crinkled papers that might be connected to this...bingo. Right there; she picked up another paper. This one was a State Certificate, and...it had been issued the same day the resume had been sent in! "What?" Riza breathed, confused. _'That's not right...'_

"_**Riza**!_"

Said woman jumped out of the chair at the sound of her superior's panicked voice, managing to knock down two of the neat paper stacks that she'd just put up. But before she could worry herself about it, Roy, who had just slammed the door to his office opened then closed, rushed over to the desk and started frantically searching the papers. Riza raised an eyebrow as she straightened professionally. "Sir? What's wrong?"

Roy looked up, a strange light in his eyes. "I need you to do something for me; I-I have an idea of where Fullmetal might be - I was thinking earlier, but forgot to ask you and...AGH! Damn this! Where is it?"

Riza was absolutely shocked by her boss's attitude, but she managed to keep a mostly professional tone as she tried to reply. "Wh-where is what, sir?"

"The certificate!" Roy cried, uncharacteristically frantic. "The State Certificate of-of...Sarah Norbander, or something like that. I need to see it!"

As Roy continued to make an even bigger mess of things, Riza looked down at the papers still in her hand. _'Does he mean Susan Nibbler?'_ "Is...this it? Sir?" she added, trying her best not to freak out along with him. This was very disconcerting.

The Colonel looked up and grabbed the papers, eyes widening. "Yes, thank you, Lieutenant," he said in gratitude. Riza let out a breath of relief as her boss's tone became less panicked. He brought the resume up to his eyes. "This dog," he began, turning it so she could see the picture of Susan and her pet. "Does it look familiar to you?"

Riza blinked. "N-no, sir, I don't think I've ever seen that dog in my life."

"Riza," Roy growled; he pushed it closer to her. "It's a _chimera_. Don't you think it reminds you of someone? The gold fur, the eyes, that expression..."

The woman frowned, taking each feature in. Now that she thought about it... The dog - _chimera_ - did remind her someone. Now who..? "The eyes," she murmured, narrowing her own. "The eyes look a bit like Edward's, but yellow eyes are more common among dogs than humans anyway. Sir, what exactly are you trying to imply?"

Roy's hand shook slightly as he went and set the papers down on his desk; he took the photo and practically glared at it. "That lead. The blood identified as Fullmet...As Edward's," he took a slow breath, then looked Riza in the eye. The Lieutenant frowned at the level of emotion in those eyes. "That blood was found by a locked door in an alleyway..."

"I...know that, sir."

"Yes, but listen," Roy hissed. "The door led to a set of stairs going down. And at the bottom of those stairs is a room...filled with the bodies of dead chimeras."

Riza gasped. "But...what..?"

The Colonel shook his head. "The chimeras were almost all torn apart. It looked as though one or two large ones might have gotten out and attacked the rest. Although many of the dead animals looked like they'd been rotting for a very long time, so it's possible the surviving chimeras could have died of food poisoning."

Riza was appalled; who would do something like that? Create chimeras only to leave them to die? But...what did this have to do with... "S-...Roy, what are implying?" her voice shook as she spoke.

Roy's brow furrowed with worry; he lifted the picture again. "It's only a hunch - a very...untested hunch - but I think Miss Nibbler here may have had something to do with my subordinate's disappearance," he frowned deeply. "But I hope not."

Riza bowed her head slightly, understanding the thought process of this man. "Would you like me to investigate?"

Roy turned to her and smiled weakly. "You know me too well, Lieutenant. Get right on that," his expression turned serious again. "But we'll have to keep it an absolute secret; if we're right about this, then this girl is highly dangerous, so we can't have her knowing what we're up to."

"Right."

* * *

A Week Later: The Chimera's PoV

I sniffed around curiously as I walked throughout Susan's new home. She'd quickly decided that she wanted to buy a place in Central, and for some reason she'd somehow acquired the money to get this_ gigantic mansion_ that was actually pretty similar to how big Master Vic's house was. This in mind, I kind of hoped we were nearby where he lived; that meanie bitch had put me unconscious on the way there, so I had no idea what the neighborhood looked like - yet.

Unfortunately though, every window I came across had some black thing covering it, like Susan didn't _want_ me to see out - or maybe because we'd just moved here, I don't know. But if it _was_ because I wasn't supposed to see outside, then that could definitely be a good sign, because if we _were_ in Master Vic's neighborhood then I could-.-

_DING-dOnG!_

I stopped my curious sniffing of what I guessed was the basement door to turn around at the sound of the doorbell. If I were just Ed right then, I would've snuck over to the foyer to see what it was; if I were just Rover, I'd have stupidly started barking and run over to the door. But I wasn't either, I was both - and so, feeling the doggy instinct of 'it's something I want to see!' at the same time as knowing it could be actually important, I jogged lightly down the hall and stopped at the intersection of the foyer and the kitchen, peaking around the corner left of me to watch as Susan trotted cheerfully down the winding, white-with-black-banisters stairs to open the door. "Hello?"

I stepped forward a bit more as I sniffed, trying to catch a familiar scent behind the half-opened door... _'Let's see...Dog, gunpowder, Mustang, (Wait, why do I know what Mustang smells like?) danger... DANGER!? No, no wait... Calm down, Rover, I think I know who it is; I just remembered that I used to know a lot of dangerous people.'_ I snorted at the tiny headache that swiftly faded as I trotted nonchalantly out into the room. A feminine voice was speaking on the other side of the door: "...don't mean to intrude. It's just that I live in this neighborhood, and when I'd heard there was a new neighbor, well, I had to come greet them! I had no idea it was you."

Susan giggled in a friendly way that made my fur stand on end; I stopped walking within three yards of her. "Oh, it's nothing! I'm already packed; I just have to fix those darned windows. Apparently, some hooligans came here the night before we did and spray-painted them all black-" she tsked "-And just when _I_ was about to move in. I wonder if someone already has it out for me?"

The woman on the other side of the door laughed uncharacteristically. "Oh, I doubt that. But you're nineteen aren't you? You sound like an old woman moving into her retirement home! 'Hooligans'; haven't you ever pulled a dirty prank?"

I growled slightly at the words. _'Dirty prank my ass! She _kidnapped_ me - twice!'_

Susan turned at my growls, and the face of Hawkeye appeared beyond the door. "Oh," the military woman smiled weakly at me, and I felt my tail wag, unbidden. "And who's this?"

Susan smiled proudly and walked over to me, gesturing for Hawkeye to enter the house; she did, and behind her trotted in none other than the ever-adorable Black Hayate, wagging his tail as though for a crowd. Susan patted my head, making me want to tear her hand off, and spoke happily to the Lieutenant while I silently gave her a look that hopefully said 'Get me out of here this woman is crazy!'. "This is my most successful creation!" the Bitch (I think I'll call her that from now on, yeah.) announced proudly. "Eddy is a chimera made with a tiny cat-" _'She just called Ed-me small!'_ I growled menacingly, but a tug on the ear warned me to shut up. I really hate that woman. "-and a golden retriever. He's really beautiful, don't you think?"

Hawkeye's eyes widened slightly - but only enough for my superior canine senses to detect her shock - and she smiled. "Well, I admit he's the most beautiful chimera I've ever seen," she replied politely. "Everything I've seen in that profession is grotesque, or inhumane."

Susan giggled in that annoying way. "Oh, I know. But I've been trying to make it less inhumane by lessening the pain of the chimeras," she scratched me behind me the ears, and I suddenly longed to see Master Vic even more. Then I reminded myself that Hawkeye was here, which meant I needed to communicate with her somehow; I couldn't _speak_ to her though, or Susan would hear.

"Well that's a good way to do it, I suppose," Hawkeye admitted as Hayate trotted up to me and tried to sniff my legs. I growled at him to back away. _'Oh no you don't, you little furball.'_

He stepped back with a whine. _'Hey, that mean.'_

My eyes narrowed, half-surprised by him responding. But then I realized the pooch hadn't actually spoken; he'd basically relayed his exact feelings toward me. I had no idea how that worked - just another mysterious dog thing that even dogs didn't understand - but I realized it could be useful. I lowered my head and growled, trying to turn my feelings into words - or...the other way around. _'Hey, Black Hayate.'_

The dog's ears perked up. _'You know me?'_

I felt my tail wag in automatic reaction. _'Do you know me? It's Edward, remember?'_

Hayate's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. _'Fullmetal?'_ Geez, how did he send a _feeling_ of my professional name? He sniffed. _'You smell like him! I __found him!'_ he turned to Riza and started barking madly. _'I found him, Riza, Fullmetal he's here! Found him!'_

Riza raised an eyebrow at her dog. "Well, that's strange. I've never seen Hayate react that way to another dog before."

Susan giggled. "Oh, that's alright. It's probably the cat in him," she pet my head. I growled. _'Damn bitch. Only Vic - and maybe Al - can touch me and get away with it! You're gonna wake up one day with one less limb!'_ Wishful thinking.

Hayate stopped barking and looked over at me, sensing my thoughts, apparently. He growled at Susan. _'Riza! She bad! Evil - she hurt Fullmetal!'_

"Uh," Hawkeye looked from Hayate to Susan, to me, then to Susan again. She smiled weakly. "If you'd rather I didn't come here with Hayate I could-"

"No, no, that's fine!" Susan insisted; she turned towards the kitchen and the hallway I just came out of. "Would you like something to drink? I'd love to get to know my 'new' neighbor," she giggled. "And I have this lovely new livingroom..."

Hawkeye smiled in that way that I knew meant she was investigating something, and she'd just gotten what she wanted. I smiled. _'Alright, Hawkeye! You suspect her of something!'_ The Lieutenant nodded politely. "Well, okay. If it's not too much trouble."

* * *

_He growled in annoyance as the suit of armor spoke with Susan as though she wasn't an evil bitch. He knew the armor was very trusting, but... _come on_! She was obviously evil! _But...why?

_"Edward is my older brother," the armor was saying in all-too-familiar voice. "I've been looking for him every day, and there've been searches, b-but...we haven't found anything yet."_

_Of course. He growled slightly at the armor's words, hoping to grab his attention...nothing._

_The Bitch hummed thoughtfully in that... fake way of hers._ _"I'm really sorry to hear that. Maybe I can help on one of these searches?" He growled in defiance, but was quickly shushed by a hand on the ear._

_The armor hand his hands up in gratitude. "Oh, thank you! I hope we can find him soon; I-I'm so worried..."_

_He watched as the armor's face lowered in sadness...then he couldn't take it anymore. He walked closer to him and licked the armor's hand to get his attention, then, suddenly feeling desperate, he grabbed the hand and pulled. _'COME ON, AL! YOU CAN'T JUST NOT RECOGNI-'

* * *

"ALPHONSE!"

(Time Rewind Again: Six Days Before Susan's New Home)

"H-huh-what?" The world suddenly grew into focus once more, and Alphonse Elric found himself standing in the middle of Mustang's office, being stared at...by Mustang, Havoc, and Breda. Al turned his helmet to look around the room, then returned his gaze to the Colonel. "I-I'm sorry, Colonel, I-um, didn't quite catch that."

Everyone was silent for a few moments, and Alphonse suddenly wished he wasn't there. _'What am I even doing here?.. Oh yeah, the Colonel wanted to see me.'_

Then Havoc decided to speak up. "You okay, kid?"

"Huh? W-what do you mean?"

"Well," Breda started explaining for Havoc. "you keep zoning out. You haven't been moving for five minutes; are you okay? Did you even hear what Mustang told you?"

"Uh, well," How could he explain it? Alphonse didn't even know what was going on...He did keep zoning out, and every time it happened he had a...nightmare or something. He always forgot it though, every time. In fact, even as he thought... he couldn't remember what he'd seen. "I don't..." he paused, then bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry, Colonel, I didn't hear what you said. I was just...thinking."

"Right," Mustang said after a long pause. He sighed. "What I said was that Havoc and Breda are going to accompany me and a squad to investigate that basement we found yesterday. However," he held up a hand to interrupt when Al began speaking. "you will _not_ be coming with us."

"Wha-but, Colonel-!"

"That's enough, Alphonse," Roy growled, giving the boy his best 'listen-to-me-now-I'm-the-one-in-charge' glare. It was a bit difficult when he was looking at the youngest Elric - even though Alphonse was in that suit of armor, he somehow managed to pull off the aura of an innocent child. It was almost frustrating. "We're going to investigate, and then we're going to clean that place up; it has to be done. That's when you'll be allowed to come in and study that circle if you so wish."

Roy watched as Alphonse seemed to thinking it through...or maybe he was zoning out again. It was hard to tell, since he couldn't give any form of facial expression. The Colonel was about to try and grab his attention again when the boy spoke. "Okay. But please, Colonel, be quick."

No one can deny that desperate-child tone; Roy nodded "Alright, we'll be as efficient as possible, and you should be able to come in in just a couple days."

* * *

**So...who likes the way I keep changing PoV with Al and Roy? I don't know why, but it's kind of fun because Alphonse thinks of Roy as "Mustang" or "Colonel", while Roy thinks of himself as "Roy" or..."Colonel". Well, it's still different, and Roy tends to think of Al with his full name more often when he's being serious or professional. ;) Yeah, I've been doin' those subtle details.**

**Anyway, I'm sorry that I don't update this very often; I'm more focused on Fullmetal Adventure, so... *sigh* I should've just left this idea in the closet until I was done that. Oh well! Here's your next chapter, hope you like it! **

**Oh, and I'm not re-reading it, so...TELL ME IF THERE ARE ANY TYPOS! &  
**

**REVIEW OR PERISH! *evil lightning accompanied by my cackle***


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so I know it's fairly short (compared to last chapter), but I kind of like where it ended. :3**

* * *

"So, boss," Breda started as they prepared themselves to head down those stairs into the grotesque scene. "how bad is it? I mean, should I be worried about nightmares, or..?"

"Probably," Roy replied, slipping on his gloves. Once they confirmed that there was nothing explosive down there - and after they collected samples of the rotting flesh, gotten anything flammable or important-looking out of the way etc. - the Colonel would burn as many of the carcasses as he could; then the real work would begin. "I didn't sleep very well last night myself, but maybe you have a stronger gut." he smirked humorlessly at the Second Lieutenant, only to earn a sickened look in return - which was what he'd expected.

"I don't feel so good about this," Havoc spoke up as one of the other squad members went to open the door - a replacement door; they couldn't just let civilians wander into that place. "I just scored a date with a hot babe the other day; I don't want to meet up with her smelling like corpses!"

Roy snorted at his subordinate's ridiculous antics; it's not like the smell would be any worse than his personality. That guy was a total failure when it came to women. "You're hopeless, Havoc. Now," he turned to the rest of the squad, nodding gratefully to Charley, the man who'd opened the door already, before speaking to the seven other men. "Alright, men, prepare yourselves for the worst."

No one seemed very anxious to enter the hellhole formerly described by the Colonel, but they all complied and put on the handed out surgical masks - which were, unfortunately, the only things in that time which could possible help block out the horrible smell down there - before following the Flame Alchemist down the steps.

Roy shivered as they reached the bottom, lanterns held high in the gloom. The door had been left wide open, so now they could all see what was to behold, and Roy was sure no one wanted to be down here. _'Well,'_ he thought with a sigh as the horrific sights were revealed in a bright glow. "Time to get to work."

None of the men seemed very happy with the task, but they all obliged to what needed to be done. I'll skip the grusome details now and just say that an hour later, all the bodies/limbs that they could find with the dull lighting were gathered in one place near the center of the room. (About the dim lighting: apparently any source of light down there had been destroyed by whatever had caused this mess - and setting up new lights that were bigger than the bright lanterns they had would take time, so they were waiting until this was finished to do so.) When this was complete, everyone but Roy stepped back, while the Colonel did the opposite.

Roy gazed at the grotesque pile of rotting bodies for hardly a minute before raising his right hand in position to snap. He smirked bitterly as he did so, noticing how the glow of the lanterns behind him dimmed when the men stepped back farther; they knew how powerful his flames could be. He swiftly moved his thumb and forefinger in opposite directions, creating a spark; only he could see how the transmutation circle on the glove glowed bright red before a line of flames jumped into the pile of bodies and set them afire.

Everyone just stood there for a few moments after the room lit up with the greenish light of the flames. Roy distinctly noticed that the smell of the room - which had only been slightly dulled by the masks - got stronger with the burning bodies. It made sense - burnt corpses on their own were pretty disgusting - but that didn't stop him from wrinkling his nose as his stomach complained silently.

"Sir!"

Roy turned at the voice of Breda, who was right then taking slow steps toward a table that was standing (not overturned) against the wall in the dark. "What is it?" the Colonel inquired, walking over to him. He didn't see anything significant about the table; as far as he could tell, there wasn't even anything on it.

The Second Lieutenant squinted in the dark. "I...uh, think we missed one, sir. There," he pointed. "under the table. No wait, there are two."

"So there are," Roy admitted, disgruntled by the fact that they'd missed them. He turned around to order a couple of the other men to come help with the beasts...

But that's when one growled.

There was a collective gasp as a blood-soaked, golden furred, sharp toothed chimera crawled out from under the table, limping on its left hind leg - which _might_ have been hanging off its hip by a few ligaments. Its bottom teeth jut out from its mouth like sabers, covered in what Roy assumed was the blood of the other animal - seeing as most of it didn't appear to be near any wounds. The beast had probably once been a lion and a boar, and looking good on the mix, but now it seemed to be falling apart at the seams, barely surviving. The growl that hummed from its throat was deep and bubbly as though it were trying to gurgle its own blood.

Roy grimaced. "What the hell happened to you?" he breathed, raising his hand again. It was his obligation to put this poor creature out of its misery, and he didn't want to wait too long with that disturbing face glaring at him. "Breda, out of the way."

"Yes, sir!" The man didn't hesitate to comply.

Unfortunately, the chimera seemed to disagree with the Colonel's order. The Lieutenant was four feet away from his former spot when it leaped, letting an abrupt snarl roll through it throat - and out in the form of blood; it landed perfectly on its new prey, and it's weight caused the man to yelp like an oversized squeaky toy.

"BREDA!" Roy shouted, snapping his fingers quickly. He wouldn't set the entire creature aflame of course, not when it was crushing his subordinate, but he managed to catch the back of its thick neck. The monster roared with the further pain it was put into, tripping over itself as it tried to get away; Roy ignored this though and quickly knelt by Breda with the intention of making sure he was alright - but first, he looked towards the other men. "Kill that thing_ NOW_!" he ordered, then turned back to the obviously wounded soldier and looked him over. "Lieutenant Breda, speak to me. Are you alright?"

Breda squeezed his eyes closed and groaned. "Yeah, I'm alright, boss. Although I think that big kitty may have broken some ribs," he turned slightly and grimaced, reaching his left hand over to grab his right. "And my arm."

The sound of gunshots reined loudly in the grotesque basement as the other soldiers shot at the animal. Roy continued to stare at his injured subordinate until it was over, then he stood up. "Fredrickson, Stewart," he turned to two of the men down there; they straightened. "I want you to take Breda out of here immediately and get him to a hospital."

"Yes, Sir!"

"Quickly! He's losing blood." Roy turned away then and walked over to inspect the creature. Somehow...it was still moving. He could see its chest rising and falling, even as the mixed blood seeped from the bullet wounds in its side. It was pitiful, truly. The Colonel sighed and raised his gloved hand once again; he snapped, and the sounds of the chimera wailing from the pain lasted exactly eight seconds as he counted.

* * *

(Another Time Jump [LAST ONE]: Same Day Riza Came To Visit)

**Somewhere In Central: The Minyoi Mansion**

"Master Vic" 3rdpPoV

"But Mommmyyy, I _saw_ him! It really was hiiiim!" an eight year old boy whined to his mother, trying to get her attention as she sat reading her book in their well-furnished livingroom. She kept saying things like "mm hm..." and "yeah?", but he knew she wasn't listening - and for some reason she didn't believe him the _first_ time he told her that he'd spotted his lost pet with the new neighbor! "_Why won't you listen?_ Rover was with the scary lady from the park!"

"Mm hm? That's nice dear..." his mother turned a page.

Vic stomped his foot and growled in annoyance. _'Alright, Mom won't help me, and Dad's out...So I'll have to go save Rover myself!'_ As the thought went through the little boy's head, he smiled, the prospect of adventure filling him up. He _knew_ his best friend was in that house down the road, he just _knew_ it! The golden retriever had looked a bit different, sure, but there was no mistaking that peaceful look on his face as he slept while the movers had taken him into the house; Victor knew that look, it was different from any other dog! Ever.

And so, the rich little blond boy snuck out of the house, clutching his lunch box - which he'd just filled with Rover's favorite treat: bacon. He made his way down the sidewalk, being as nonchalant as he could. As he approached the big, bright blue house, he noticed how all the windows seemed to be covered in paint. _'That mean woman probably doesn't want Rover to see out and recognize home.'_ he reasoned, smart boy that he was. It made him mad; what would that woman want with his dog? She already had a nice little beagle...

Glancing around for anyone who might be watching, Vic hurriedly ran into the front yard and leaped into the bushes like he did when he was playing hide and seek with Rover. (Rover always won.) He then took his box handle by the teeth and stood on his knees to peek into the window...only to meet a black surface. "Sthupid," he muttered to himself through the handle, then got back down on his hands and knees to crawl to the door; maybe there would be a doggy-door he could go through to get inside.

When he reached the door, however, he was met with nothing but a blank, wooden, doggiless door. "That _fiend_!" he shouted, standing up as he quoted oh, so many books his mother had read to him as a little kid. "How could she treat my best friend so cruelly?!"

The little boy quickly - and silently - made his way to the back of the house, where there was no fence, and a flimsier door than out front. This door, unlike the one in the front, didn't have a lock. Vic grinned. "Too easy." In a matter of seconds, he was inside.

The back room of the mansion-like - yet smaller than his - house looked like a simple dining room, complete with fancy table, a chandelier, and blackened windows that should've been showing a _beautiful_ view. The rest of the room was empty, but that made sense considering the evil woman had just moved in.

Vic swiftly moved over to the slightly opened door on the other side of the room, standing with his back against the wall like an expert. He turned his head around the corner and slowly pushed the door opened; on the other side, there was a hallway. So he stuck his head out, turned it both ways to make sure no one was watching, and made his way out of the room.

* * *

1st Person: Rover/Edward's PoV

_'Fullmetal, why are you not human?'_

I glanced over at Hayate from where Susan had forced me to sit next to her on the couch. We were in what would be the livingroom - but currently only had a blue couch and a tan chair in it - and Riza sat across from Susan and me with a cup of freshly made tea.

I tried to be silent as I responded. _'This bitch turned me into a chimera. Do uh, do you know what that is?'_

Hayate's ears dropped and he looked down at Riza's lap where he sat. _'No...what is that?'_

_'It's when two creatures are merged together with alchemy,'_ I growled, earning a hand on the back of my neck in a deceptive pat.

"Now now, Eddy," Susan chided, and I grimaced. "Don't growl at the nice doggy; you're probably going to have to get to know him, considering." She scratched me behind the ears, and I tried not to bite her hand off.

Riza smiled, but I could tell she was angry at the woman; I guessed the longer she was here, the stronger her suspicions about me got. This was very good. "He seems like a nice pet. Hey, Susan," she put on her best I'm-just-curious face - which is surprisingly good. "I was wondering, where exactly did you _get_ the animals to make him?"

Susan smiled back; I glared at the floor. "A pet shop. Where else would I get them? I didn't have funding from the military yet when I made him."

I snorted at her answer, then looked up as Hayate forcibly thought toward me. _'So that means you're also someone other than Fullmetal too?'_

I nodded subtly. _'Yes. I used to be a normal dog; I lived with a rich kid in a _huge_ neighborhood.__..'_

_'Was it this one?'_ Hayate inquired, sniffing slightly. I shrugged, and would've answered, but there was suddenly a gigantic-

_CRASH!_

-down the hall outside. Everyone turned, me and the other dog sniffing intently; the tea made it difficult to catch anything though.

"What was that?" Riza sounded surprised, but I saw her automatically reach for her pocket. _'Does she actually have her gun in there?'_

Susan stood up along with her, and Hayate and I jumped off of our perches. I ignored the Bitch's reply and trotted toward the door, peeking my head out. I sniffed hard and gazed down the hallway; there was nothing out of the ordinary - or at least, what I supposed was the ordinary in this house - but I did catch a whiff of something strong, and _very_ familiar.

_'Bacon.'_

Without hesitating, I obeyed my canine instincts and started down the hall; I even managed to block out Susan's protests to my actions by focusing on _only the smell_. It led all the way to the end of the hall and into an empty room - no wait, it wasn't empty. It held an old picture of a beautiful horse painting - but that was on the floor. And standing, terrified, in front of the broken frame, was a familiar blond boy. I gasped. "Vic?"

All the little boy could do...was stare.

* * *

Same Time: Alphonse

Everyone along the crowded sidewalk swerved to avoid the large, empty suit of armor that walked with his head down, deep in thought. Alphonse didn't know where he was going, but he didn't want to stay in one place; he felt weird, and...well, that was saying something, considering a physical feeling was impossible. Yet somehow, not emotionally, he'd felt the need to go for a walk.

He kept thinking about his brother. Was he okay? Was he near here? Did Colonel Mustang have a good lead yet? The younger Elric hadn't yet been allowed into that horrific basement for some reason; something about them having to 'make sure it was safe' first. But that didn't make _any_ sense to Al because _nothing_ down there could hurt him! Not unless someone was going to turn on a hose and spray directly into his blood-seal; he wanted to get down there _now_.

Mustang had been acting weird lately, ever since he and his team had gone into that basement. Al could only conclude that the Colonel had seen something down there that he didn't want the armored boy to find out about, but what could it be? Did it have something to do with Ed? Was Mustang trying to protect him from something? That thought made Al mad; he could take it, whatever it was! But every time he tried to ask about it, all he got was another "it's too dangerous" or "not quite yet". He didn't understand...

"Hey, watch it!"

Al stopped walking and looked down, realizing he'd almost knocked someone over. "Oh, s-sorry. I should've been paying more attentio-"

"Yeah, you shoulda!" the raggedly dressed man grumped, then he skirted the suit of armor and continued on his way, muttering incoherently.

Alphonse lowered his head and sighed. _'Oh, man. I was slipping off for a moment there, wasn't I?'_ He got an image of a little blond kid in his head. _'That's not Brother... Where am I anyway?'_

He looked around, finding himself on a rugged, dirty street. It was...oh, this was that darker, more dangerous part of Central he'd never been before; that explained the man's attitude. He should probably turn back. _'But go where?'_ The Colonel wouldn't let him check out the basement, _or_ tell him _anything_ anymore; Al was beginning to think he knew something, but the question was...what?

After a moment of standing there, Al made a decision. He'd heard from Susan the other day that she and her chimera were moving into a new house now; maybe paying her a visit would get his mind off things. For now.

* * *

Mustang's Office: Roy

Roy stood at his desk, alone in his office. He had a large, rectangular piece of paper underneath his palms, and he was studying a perfect copy of the transmutation circle in the basement. It wasn't a standard circle, that was for sure. He'd never studied medical alchemy, but from what he _had _seen, he could deduce that this circle had obvious signs of being used to close a wound; that was simple enough. However, that was not the only part of the matrix. He recognized some things that looked disturbingly similar to the small bit of Tucker's research he'd seen; it indicated the merging of cells more than healing. Roy had even looked through some classified research notes on the making of chimeras, but...it didn't _quite_ fit. There was every possibility that had been what the circle-no, he was _positive_ this transmutation circle had been used to create a chimera, but there was _so much more_ there that he, regretfully, didn't understand.

He'd decided as soon as he realized its similarity to Tucker's work that Alphonse would be left in the dark about it - at least until they found Fullmetal; there was no need for the poor kid to worry even more. He was still having those blackouts, and that worried Roy almost as much as Edward's disappearance. Almost.

Actually...now that the Colonel thought about it, he should probably get someone to stay with the armor at all times. He'd been so focused on finding the little pipsqueak that he hadn't realized how dangerous that, uh, _condition_ could be for Alphonse; what if he zoned out in the middle of crossing the street? He could get hit by a car, and Edward would never forgive Roy if he let his brother's blood-seal get damaged! The Colonel frowned, then rolled up the paper on his desk. He'd get right on that. But first he needed to _find_ the boy.

* * *

**I am so sorry for my evilness; it just gets out of control sometimes. THREE CLIFFHANGERS! BOOYA! (I've never used that word before. O_o)**

**Anyway, you all can thank Sokkasm for prompting me to update even faster today with a race - don't ask. I'm really glad I did this, and HA! I WIN! *sticks tongue out immaturely***

**Oh, and I'm too lazy to read it over (again), so please let me know of any typos or obviously missed words. Thanks. :3 AND REVIEW! ^-^**


End file.
